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Questions tagged [kierkegaard]

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) was a Danish philosopher and theologian associated with existentialism.

The following are some sources providing more information about Kierkegaard:

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Is atheism a requirement for a consistent existentialist philosophy?

Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered to be the "father of existentialism". This always bothered me, since to me Sartre and Camus are the defining figures of the movement, and it seems that there is no room for God in an existential…
Alan Turing
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Did Nietzsche read Kierkegaard?

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are often treated together as early existentialists. This is rather odd, as Kierkegaard was self-consciously seeking to be an orthodox Christian, and Nietzsche was self-consciously seeking to destroy…
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Do Kierkegaard's non-pseudonymous writings enable one to understand Kierkegaard's philosophy much?

As I read them, Kierkegaard's writings can be split into two groups: the mostly philosophical psuedonymous, and more theological non-pseudonymous works. I have read primarily the pseudonymous works (Either-Or, Concluding Unscientific Postscript,…
Tom Morris
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How does Søren Kierkegaard use the word "dialectic" and how does his use of it differ from G.W.F. Hegel's?

According, to my understanding, the meaning of dialectic is... In Plato: a back-and-forth conversational style of reasoning from his later dialogues In the Middle Ages: the scholastic style of reasoning so well exemplified in Aquinas (objection,…
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I'm interested in Kierkegaard, what should I read prior to his works?

I'm mostly interested in Fear and Trembling and on Either/Or. Can I read it straight away or is it recommended to read any other books first. If that's the case, which books then? I'm sorry for the noob question, but it is because Kierkegaard is…
Ezequiel Barbosa
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What is the main message Kierkegaard is trying to deliver in his suicidal quote?

In his journal Kierkegaard wrote: I have just now come from a party where I was its life and soul; witticisms streamed from my lips, everyone laughed and admired me, but I went away — yes, the dash should be as long as the radius of the earth's…
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Is there any consensus on what the significance was in Kierkegaard's use of pseudonyms?

I took a class in Kierkegaard and it was represented that Kierkegaard's use of pseudonyms was highly significant. Either he meant what he said, or he was being ironic, or something else entirely. Is there an academic consensus forming around the…
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For Kierkegaard, how does being "animal" and "rational" compel us to invent meaning?

I'm working through "Alienation and Freedom" by Richard Schmitt right now. In explaining alienation and it's precondition, he posits: "The need for infusing one's life with meaning arises, as Kierkegaard understood, through the duality of human…
Cameron Hurd
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Kierkegaard and the Tripartite Theory of Man

Terminological Background The traditional tripartite view of human nature, or the trichotomy of human persons, refers to the distinguishing of soul and spirit in humans (the body of course being the third part). In Christian theology, this is…
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Concepts of state and transition as used by Kierkegaard

While reading Søren Kierkegaard's "The Concept of Anxiety", I asked myself how much of the temporal interpretation of dialectic and the interaction between state and transition (leap) are original to Kierkegaard. I know that Kierkegaard understood…
Thomas Klimpel
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What did Kierkegaard consider to be "reflection"?

After mentioning Kierkegaard's leveling and mathematical equality concepts, this passage is quoted: The individual no longer belongs to God, to himself, to his beloved, to his art or to his science; he is conscious of belonging in all things to an…
LitheOhm
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Truth is subjectivity

What does Kierkegaard mean when he says " Truth is subjectivity " in his book - Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments. Since "Subjectivity refers to how someone's judgment is shaped by personal opinions and feelings instead…
shrey
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What does Kierkegaard mean by recollection, repetition and remembrance?

I'm reading Either/Or and I'm progressing quite well with the book. I'm supplementing it with some external resources where needed, but for the most part I'm doing well without those, by the way, I'm reading Hong's translation, that not only is…
Ezequiel Barbosa
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Was Kierkegaard racist?

From his Fear and Trembling, People commonly travel around the world to see rivers and mountains, new stars, birds of rare plumage, queerly deformed fishes, ridiculous breeds of men – they abandon themselves to the bestial stupor which gapes at…
Constantine
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Kierkegaard and "the Essentially Christian"

When interpreting any author, it is crucial to understand his terms. Reading The Book on Adler (sometimes titled Concerning Authority and Revelation), I have come to understand that the essentially Christian (which I take to be equivalent to "the…
Kazark
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